PATNA: With two more deaths reported from Muzaffarpur district, the toll in Bihar floods increased to 104 on Monday and over 76 lakh people affected by the deluge, Disaster Management Department officials said.
The water-level is receding in the 12 flood-affected districts - Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Araria, Sheohar, Darbhanga, Purnea, Kishanganj, Supaul, East Champaran, Muzaffarpur, Saharsa and Katihar, the officials said.
Though the number of people affected by flood has increased to 76.85 lakh on Monday, the number of relief camps and people taking shelter in camps has gone down as the water-level is receding, they said.
"The number of relief camps and community kitchens has gone down as water-level is receding in flood-affected districts. People are going back to their houses," a senior state government official said.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF)personnel equipped with 125 boats are working in relief and rescue operations.
Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi announced in the state Assembly that not a single-family affected from floods this year will be deprived of gratuitous relief of Rs 6,000.
While replying to a debate on the Appropriation Bill 2019, the deputy chief minister, who also holds the Finance portfolio, asserted that victims of the calamity have the first right over state's resources.
A total of Rs 295 crore has been transferred into the bank accounts of 4.91 lakh victim families at the rate of Rs 6,000 per family so far, he said.
The state government had transferred Rs 2,358 crore directly into the bank accounts of 38 lakh people during the 2017 floods, the deputy chief minister said 649 people had died, while 1.72 crore people were affected by the flood then.
Besides, the government has also given Rs 931 crore as assistance to 14.19 lakh farmers affected from drought in 280 blocks of 25 districts in the state so far, he said.
The government has earmarked Rs 4,320 crore to tackle disaster-related incidents in the state this year, besides enhancing the corpus of contingency fund to Rs 8020 crore, he added.